160 Short Motivational Quotes For Athletes

A much as we enjoy sports, we also need to be aware that there are a lot of lessons to learn from athletes. Have you ever wondered what made a team to suddenly rise up from defeat to end up winning the game? Have you ever wondered what makes a team remain unbeatable, and don’t tell me it’s because they have the best player, because their opponents have better players. Life is a game and if you must win, you must learn how to play and must know the spirit behind a winner. Here are some motivational quotes gotten from sports and athletes.

Inspirational Sports Quotes

1. “The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.” – Wayne Gretzky

2. “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” – Dan Gable

3. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

4. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

41. “You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” – Michael Phelps

42. “Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

43. “You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation.” – Homer Rice

44. “You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose.” – Gordie Howe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

45. “You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose.” – Gordie Howe

46. “My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” – Hank Aaron

47. “The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special.”
– Eddie Reese

48. “The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger

49. “When I go out there, I have no pity on my brother. I am out there to win.” – Joe Frazier

50. “During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” – Mickey Mantle

51. “To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.” – Picabo Street

52. “Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time.” – Lou Brock

53. “I didn’t believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on the field and be prepared to play a good game.” – Tom Landry

54. “If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.” – Herschel Walker

56. “I never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me piece of mind.” – Peyton Manning

57. “Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.” – Eddie Robinson

58. “You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.” – J. Askenberg

59. “You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.” – Herb Brooks

60. “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time.” – Don Zimmer

61. “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.” – Mark Spitz

62. “How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.” – Lou Holtz

63. “Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second.” – William James

64. “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” – Mike Singletary

65. “If at first you don’t succeed, you are running about average.” – M.H. Alderson

66. The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.” – Ernie Banks

67. “Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”– Frank L. Gaines

68. “When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.” – Bill Shoemaker

69. “Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

70. “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong

71. “Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.” – Phil Jackson

72. “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”– Dan Gable

73. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

74. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

75. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

76. “Make each day your masterpiece.” – John Wooden

77. “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley

93. “Number one is just to gain a passion for running. To love the morning, to love the trail, to love the pace on the track. And if some kid gets really good at it, that’s cool too.” – Pat Tyson

94. “The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Joe Frazier

95. “When I go out there, I have no pity on my brother. I am out there to win.” – Joe Frazier

96. “During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” – Mickey Mantle

97. “I never left the field saying I could have done more to get ready and that gives me piece of mind.” – Peyton Manning

98. “Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.” – Jim Valvano

99. “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Wayne Gretzky

100. “The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.” – Wayne Gretzky

102. “The five S’s of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.” – Ken Doherty

103. “An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.” – Emil Zatopek

104. “Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her.” – Mia Hamm

105. “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno

106. “Adversity cause some men to break; others to break records.” – William A. Ward

107. “Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.” – Satchel Paige

108. “Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do…but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there. ” – Venus Williams

109. “You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose.” – Gordie Howe

110. “My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging.” – Hank Aaron

111. “I didn’t believe in team motivation. I believe in getting a team prepared so it knows it will have the necessary confidence when it steps on the field and be prepared to play a good game.” – Tom Landry

112. “If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.” – Herschel Walker

113. “You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” – Arthur Ashe

114. “What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.” – Andre Agassi

115. “The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.” – Pele

116. “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team. ” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

117. “Win If You Can, Lose If You Must, But NEVER QUIT!” – Cameron Trammell

118. “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” – Mike Singletary

159. “The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special.” – Eddie Reese